Problem

Nebraska Avenue before the project occurred. Note the lack of a curb along the right side of the roadway in the before condition.

Nebraska Avenue, a four-lane undivided roadway, was ranked among the highest pedestrian and bicycle crash frequency corridors in the Florida Department of Transportation's District 7.

Background

Nebraska Avenue is a minor urban arterial road in Tampa, Florida. There is significant transit use and the surrounding land uses are both commercial and residential. Prior to the project, the four-lane roadway had few marked crosswalks and the sidewalks were not always continuous. The corridor had an overall crash rate that was 50 percent higher than the average crash rate for similar roadways.

Solution

After the project, Nebraska Avenue had a two-way left-turn lane and a continuous sidewalk.

The Florida Department of Transportation changed the roadway to three lanes with the center lane converted to a two-way left-turn lane. The extra road space provided room to add bike lanes in both directions.

Pedestrian crossings were also improved. A midblock crossing with advance yield markings was added to provide pedestrians with additional locations to cross the roadway. At signalized intersections, pedestrian signals were updated. Raised medians were also added in the center lane at certain points along the roadway. These medians provided pedestrians with a safe place to wait while crossing the roadway.

Results

A midblock crossing helps pedestrians safely cross the roadway.

The changes made to Nebraska Avenue led to a reduction in pedestrian crashes from 7 crashes per year to 2.5 crashes per year. Bicycle crashes also decreased following the lane reduction and addition of bike lanes, from 5 crashes per year to 1.7 crashes per year. This project showed that, when redesigning a roadway to improve overall safety, major improvements could be made to pedestrian and bicycle safety and accessibility.